Well, it’s official! I survived the Rolex Kentucky 3-Day Event – as a vendor. :) After attending as a spectator in 2016, I decided to take a leap of faith and register Ride Heels Down as a vendor for 2017. It was a lot of work but I had SO. MUCH. FUN!! I put in […]
And the award for “shortest amount of time it takes to fall off during #NoStirrupsNovember” goes to… me!! I didn’t even last 30 seconds. Here’s the story: Ah, November 1st. It’s a time to enjoy crisp fall days, fun seasonal flavors (yes, I’ll jump on the pumpkin spice bandwagon… no shame here!) and riding without […]
Not long after we first started walking under saddle again, I had to go out of town for two weeks. The idea of leaving my boy during his rehab was awful, but, fortunately, I had enlisted the help of my friend, Cyndi, to act as a babysitter. Cyndi is a fellow eventer who rides at […]
In my 20+ years of riding, I’ve thrown my leg over hundreds of horses. Many have been lesson horses, and while most were happy to cart me around without a care in the world, there have been some that were flat out opinionated, obstinate, and ornery. Who can blame them? Lesson horses, are, essentially, the […]
“That’s a sound horse.” – Dr. Dan Carter Good news, friends! JJ has been cleared by our vet to start rehab! :D After he came up lame at an event in April, JJ was diagnosed with a collateral ligament injury and put on stall rest for several months. (Fun fact: in the six months that […]
I waited my whole life to buy my first horse. Earlier this year, when I made my dream a reality, I never imagined that just 1.5 months later, my new boy would be on stall rest with a collateral ligament lameness. I thought JJ and I would continue as we had during the two years […]
JJ has been on stall rest since he came up lame at our last event. We had the vet out to check him several times. She X-rayed, she ultrasounded, and she gave an unconfirmed diagnosis: lateral collateral ligament damage in his front right. Several weeks of stall rest later and JJ showed only mild improvement. […]
When I was little, I spent countless hours parked in front of the TV watching any and all equestrian-related coverage I could find. My best friend, Alana, and I would sit on the floor just inches from the screen and dream of someday riding with the greats like Ian Millar, Hap Hansen, Bruce Davidson, and […]
It’s never fun when your horse goes lame, but it’s especially not fun when your horse goes lame right before a big event that just so happens to also be on your birthday. :-\ Fortunately, JJ wasn’t *bad* lame, and some rest and several days off fixed him up in time for us to still […]
Poplar Place Farm and I have recently become frienemies. I love the facility itself, head trainer Werner Geven and his wife Marjolein are amazing people, and Kris the Sugar Cube Lady is wonderful. However, I’ve had not one but two falls in stadium there (and one near miss) recently, and I’ve definitely got some residual […]